Masaaki Noiri ONE 172 Takeru: WATCH: Masaaki Noiri gets his spirit crushed watching close friend and teammate Takeru fall to Rodtang at ONE 172

WATCH: Masaaki Noiri gets his spirit crushed watching close friend and teammate Takeru fall to Rodtang at ONE 172

Modified Mar 27, 2025 14:13 GMT

Rodtang and Takeru share a moment following their ONE 172 encounter. (inset: Masaaki Noiri) [Photos via: ONE Championship] — Rodtang and Takeru share a moment following their ONE 172 encounter (inset: Masaaki Noiri) [Photos via ONE Championship]

Newly crowned ONE interim featherweight kickboxing world champion Masaaki Noiri pulled double duty at ONE 172 this past Sunday, March 23, as he worked the corner of fellow Japanese kickboxing icon Takeru Segawa in his main event bout with Rodtang Jitmuangnon right after his own high-stakes matchup.

In the co-main event, Noiri captured 26 pounds of interim gold by posting an impressive TKO of ONE featherweight Muay Thai world champion Tawanchai PK Saenchai in the third round.

The 33-year-old hoped 'Natural Born Krusher' would have a similar result against the Thai great, but a knockdown 80 seconds into their bout shifted his mood in the wrong direction.

In a video shared by ONE on Instagram, Noiri and the other coaches of Team Vasileus can be seen guiding the gym's founder through the knockdown, but Takeru, unfortunately, was unable to respond to the count.

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Watch the video below:

The defeat put a damper on things for Japanese fighters competing at ONE 172, as they had logged eight wins in 10 fights prior to Takeru's flyweight kickboxing bout with Rodtang.

Despite the result, Takeru was given a lot of love by his compatriots inside the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan. They cheered him on as he made his way to the locker room and later apologized to them during the ONE 172 post-event press conference.

Masaaki Noiri looking forward to battling Superbon for undisputed crown

With Masaaki Noiri having won the interim featherweight kickboxing crown at ONE 172, he now looks ahead to his impending unification bout with ONE featherweight kickboxing world champion Superbon.

In an interview with My Navi News, the former two-division K-1 kickboxing king stated:

"I know this is just the interim belt, yes, it still means a lot. But I want the real one. This was a good way to get myself ready for the real one."

Watch the entire interview below:

About the author

Karl has been an MMA writer at Sportskeeda since 2023. He holds a Bachelor of Arts major in history, which helps him pay attention to the finer details while writing, and also has first-hand experience in boxing. He has a total experience of 5 years, and has worked for the International Business Times.

Karl turned into an MMA fan back in 2011 after watching Tito Ortiz defeat Ryan Bader via first-round submission at UFC 132. He has interviewed ONE world champions like Eduard Folayang, Joshua Pacio, Stamp Fairtex, and Tawanchai in his career so far.

On the non-MMA side of things, he interviewed WWE superstar Matt Riddle in 2021 and his question about Roman Reigns elicited an interesting answer which was widely covered by outlets like Sportskeeda and Cultaholic Wrestling's YouTube channel. He has also interviewed NBA stars Dwight Howard, Nick Young, Andre Roberson, Shabazz Muhammad, Jason Williams and Brian Scalabrine plus Filipino women's volleyball star Alyssa Valdez.

Karl ensures to double-check facts before using them in articles, and reads up on potential topics for pieces a day before. In his off time, he likes to play video games, and keep up with basketball and pro wrestling.

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Edited by Harvey Leonard